Aftermath
by alexiroseni
Summary: Maybe he could chase away her fears. Her presence soothed his own. He feared he would disappear without a trace, that no one would know him and that he would never belong. He feared being dirtied and eaten alive by the city like his family. But Katherine believed in him and gave him something to believe in so he would not disappear, he would live and love and belong.
1. Chapter 1

A/N I do not own Newsies. This is based off the Broadway musical not the film. I picture Corey Cott in the role of Jack Kelly, Kara Lindsey as Katherine, Ben Fankhauser as Davey (of course) and Andy Richardson as Crutchy. If you go see the play right now that is who you will see.

* * *

He payed his 60 cents for 100 papes and set off. He wanted an ordinary day after a week of not ordinary circumstances. He didn't want to think about the reality of Santa Fe or of an office job drawing cartoons or being kissed and kissing with no intention of just getting under her skirts and moving on.

So he took his papes and like the master of the streets that he was he disappeared. He walked for a good hour, shouted a headline about the recent baseball scores and had sold a few dozen before anyone found him.

Crutchy met him first. The smaller boy still looked pretty roughed up but he sat, sandwich in hand, at their old lunch spot on the fountain by the entrance to Central Park. They'd always eaten uptown to feel like big shots. As soon as Crutchy saw Jack approach he started talking.

"Technically it's your day to buy but since theses didn't cost me a penny I thought I'd share with my old mate so's as we could catch up on the gossip. I heard you were a right ol' american hero my friend."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Listen, Crutchy, I want to say..." But he had to stop when he saw the look in his best friend's eyes.

Crutchy held out a sandwich. "If you sit and eat with me I won't hit you with my crutch for trying to bring up bits of the past that were meant to stay in the past."

Jack took the paper wrapped sandwich and sat. "Damn, the refuge changed you."

Crutchy's grin was rueful. "Can you blame a guy?"

Jack shook his head. "But like you said it's in the past...hey this is a good sandwich. You sure you didn't spend your life savings on it?"

Crutchy looked like a cat who'd got the canary. "No, it was free of charge... as were the Cokes."

Jack looked from the pastrami on rye with mayo to the glass bottles of cola and then at Crutchy again. He felt his eyes narrow and his wheels turn. "Did you get some girl to make you lunch?"

His friend's smile grew. "No, but you did."

Another look at the food and Jack felt the bite he'd taken stick in his throat. His cough attack just made crutchy laugh and offer him one of the drinks. Jack took a swig. Crutchy just kept on talking.

"Yeah, since you disappeared at the end of the strike Katherine invited me on her picnic instead of you. I told her to meet me here, I wonder what's keeping her? Gross! Jack get some manners."

Jack had spewed his mouthful of coke out once Crutchy said Katherine was meeting him. "You were going to have a picnic at our uptown lunch spot with some girl?"

Crutchy frowned "She ain't just 'some girl', from the looks of it she's your girl and you skivved on her picnic. So I thought I'd fill in for you and you could make it up to her."

Jack set his half-eaten sandwich down and stood. He took off his cap to scratch at his hair and then replaced the cap.

"Well, if you gots business with Miss Pulitzer then I'd better split."

Crutchy started laughing. "If anybody's got business with Miss Pulitzer...wait did you say Pulitzer?"

Jack nodded, staying standing, his eyes scanning the crowd for the girl. "I did indeed. She's ol' Joe's daughters. I didn't even know that he was married."

There was no sign of her. Jack was confused by the mix of disappointment and relief than ran through him. He'd always thought those two things were opposed but now it seemed he was wrong.

"So, you kissed the bosses daughter?"

Jack looked at Crutchy askance. "She kissed me first."

Crutchy was grinning like a cat again. "Then she likes you?"

Jack nodded slowly.

"And you like her?"

He nodded again.

"That's called business."

Jack flinched. "I know, Crutchy, and damn it if I don't think that keeping up business with would be fine. But...she's...Pulitzer's daughter. And I ain't scared of ol' Joe, not after staying a night in his cellar. But she didn't tell me about her Father. Sure, she was on our side this whole time but...a guy like me doesn't get a girl like her. Not in real life. An' if I didn't know she was an heiress what else don't I know about her?"

Crutchy was still smiling but his tone was uncertain. "Damned if I know, Jack."

Only one person had those answers and he almost didn't see her coming.

She waved and hollered as she came across the "Jack Kelly! That was some way to skive on a girl. Where di you get your manners?."

Jack's heart skipped a beat at just the sight of her. For sure in the last two weeks he'd sketched her face from memory with borderline obsession on any blank piece of paper he could with no sign ever stopping. Auburn curls pinned back from her oval face, warm brown eyes that questioned everything, and that wide, cheeky smile. She was, from top to toes, perfect in his eyes.

And that scared the boots off him.

She came to stop at the bottom of the steps, her smile brightening the rather muggy July day. She took a few steps up until they stood face to face. He clenched his fists to keep from kissing her. Kissing wouldn't answer his doubts no matter how good it felt.

"I needed space to think."

Confusion flickered in her eyes. "About what?"

"Lots of stuff."

She just nodded but didn't look happy. She was curious. That's why she was a journalist. She stepped around him and fiddled with her long skirts sat down on the blanket Crutchy had spread on the steps. "You can't think on an empty stomach. Sit and eat. I'll let you think."

Jack didn't say he didn't trust that last promise. He just sat and picked his sandwich back up. Crutchy pulled himself to his feet.

"Well, I best get on with selling these papes. I'll see you tonight Jack."

Jack didn't want his friend to leave him alone with this girl. He couldn't trust himself to think straight (or at all) around her. Jack was certain Crutchy deliberately ignored his look of desperation. He had to smile though as he ate his lunch and watched his friend sell several papers just heading down the street. Once Crutchy was out of sight, Jack turned his attention to Katherine and met her scrutinizing gaze. "From the way you're lookin at me people'd think you was the artist not me." He laughed as he spoke and he saw a positive response to his teasing in her eyes. She smiled and pink rose from her neck and spotted her cheeks.

"I'm trying to understand you."

"Good luck."

She looked down at the cola in her hands. "Can I ask what kinds of stuff you were thinking about this morning?"

Jack swallowed. He'd known the question was coming. She was a newspaper woman. So he replied.

"The past weeks have been kinda different from what I have been used to. It's a lot for a guy to take in. So I was thinking about the strike and all that."

Katherine frowned. "Are you being deliberately vague?"

Her frown was almost as lovely as her smile. The lines pulled her whole face down, it wrinkled her little nose and emphasized her lower lip. The artist in him wanted to sketch her on his sandwich paper. The man in him wanted to kiss her. He settled for answering her question.

"Alright, Miss Pulitzer, I'll give you the complete story." He ignored her protest over her last name and continued. "you do want the whole story right? Then you better get listening. I thought about this morning in your Father's office. I thought over how well our plan went. I thought about seeing Crutchy back and them putting away Seitz the snake. I thought about political cartoons and office jobs. I thought about money and time and Santa Fe," He paused head spinning again from the sheer amount of thoughts he'd thought since he'd ended up in Pulitzer's cellar, "And yes, I thought about you, girly."

Katherine's eyes were wide and her eyebrows arched, the perfect look of surprise. "Those are a lot of thoughts for a boy to have."

Jack frowned. "I'm not a boy."

Katherine mimicked his frown. "I'm not a girl."

"How old are you?"

"That's not polite."

"I kissed you. I deserve to know."

Katherine looked sheepish. "I'm 17 minus 54 days."

Jack barked a laugh. "You're a newspaper woman and you're only 16?"

She looked miffed and crossed her arms petulantly. "Well, how long have you been working?"

Jack took of his cap and ran his hand under his nose. "Since I's was 8."

"So then me working at 16 is not so bad."

"No, just surprising. I'd think you'd be sitting in parlors receiving rich boy suitors like those two who helped us with the Banner."

"If my father had his way I would. But my mother encouraged me to get my wildness out before I look for a husband or I won't stay married long. Wait, I kissed you too so I deserve to know how old you are."

"I'm 17, 18 in December."

"You're so old."

Jack knew he was pulling face but he couldn't help it. "Wadda ya mean? Old? I'm in the prime of life."

"But you can't live as a newsie forever."

Jack nodded. "Santa Fe, remember?"

That made Katherine frown. "Oh, right."

Jack decided to change the subject. "Alright, now I know how old you are I think we can have real introductions. Miss Katherine...uh wants your middle name…?"

She grinned with mischief. "Katherine."

Jack nodded. "Yes? good. Miss Katherine Kather...wait a moment. What numbskull would named their daughter the same thing twice?"

"No one. My name is officially Edith Katherine Pulitzer. Katherine is my Mother's name so I like to go by my middle name. Always have."

Jack nodded. "Well, Miss Edith Katherine Pulitzer. I am Jack Kelly, newsie and artist."

Katherine laughed and took his hand. "We've met."

Jack shook his head. "I have met Katherine Plumber, intrepid girl reporter. You are Miss Edith Katherine Pulitzer. That was one of the things I thought about this morning."

Katherine just stared at him. "Does that really matter? I don't think of myself as Edith Katherine Pulitzer. In my head I'm just Katherine Plumber, intrepid girl reporter."

Jack shrugged and finished off his sandwich. He wasn't sure if it mattered or not. He'd fallen for the "beautiful, smart, independent girl" he'd sketched on that first night.

"Besides, I don't even live in my father's house. I haven't since I was fifteen. If you take me to dinner tonight I'll let you walk me home."

Jack wasn't surprised that Katherine didn't live at her Father's anymore then the second part sunk in. "Well, if I'm taking you to dinner I better sell these papes." They both stood. He made to head off but with a cheeky grin he asked. "Buy a pape off a poor orphan ma'am?"

Her whole face lit up. She pulled out her coin purse and handed him the proper amount. Jack let his fingers catch and lock her hand in his own. He pulled her closer but was unable to keep his eyes in one place his gaze flicked between her large brown eyes and her perfectly shaped lips.

"Jack?"

"Ace?" he mimicked.

Her lips quirked into a small smile. He was glad she liked the pet name he'd thought to give her. He met her eyes as he brought her hand under to his mouth, pressing it gently to his lips. So maybe it was a bit romantic but he didn't care because Katherine liked it.

"Are you really going to go with dinner with me?"

Jack nodded, his forehead wrinkling, she looked so doubtful. "Of course I am. I'll even pay."

Katherine smiled like he'd given her a new typewriter (or whatever girl reporters loved). "Alright then, meet me at Giuliano's at 7?"

"Will do. Now I really should go and sell these so I have something to buy you dinner with but first well I'm going to kiss you." He did too. Lightly on the lips. He didn't draw it out. It was brief and seeing that she had wanted it to last longer made him grin like a fool. "I'll see you tonight, Ace."

"Mmhmm." Her eyes were cloudy and she reached up to touch her lips. He squeezed her hand and then moved away, not turning away from her, she kept her held on him until he was at arms length. Then he turned and took off at a jog. Once out of sight he slowed and shoved that hand in his pocket, fist clenching and releasing. "Jackie ol boy, you've got it bad. You're going nuts, you're even talking to yourself like Specs does. Get a grip. Sell some papes. Make it to 7 pm."

He made it. He stood outside Guiliano's at 10 to 7. He'd washed up and changed his shirt and even combed his hair a bit. He twisted his hat in his hands then replaced it on his head, nerves eating him raw. He shoved his hands in his pockets and fidgeted. He'd had plenty more time to think as he'd worked that day. He'd known Katherine all of a week. They'd met on accident. That moment he'd seen her at the theatre he'd sat down to sketch her and he'd known…

_Beautiful. Smart. Independant._

He hummed to himself as he waited and watched the sky grow dark. From the streets he couldn't see stars come out like up on the roof tops. Rooftops... What had Specs been thinking showing Katherine his rooftop hideaway? That had been the moment where knowing turned into doing. Love at first sight might have been for suckers but with Katherine (smart, beautiful, independant Katherine) and her insistence that New York had something that Santa Fe didn't it seemed that he had been wrong. Loving her seemed as inevitable as it was enjoyable. She'd got him to pay and sell papes today instead of catching the train out of town. She'd gotten him to rethink how to do the strike and helped them win. She'd gotten him to agree to dinner at a place he'd never step foot in any other way. He glanced at the sign. It wasn't high class but it was a sit down at a private table and talk while you eat place. She'd gotten him tied in knots. He felt something touch him arm and he jumped. There she was, wearing the same thing she had earlier but she smelt cleaner and fresher, and her curls shone more brightly.

She slipped a hand into his. "Long day?"

He kissed her knuckles and marveled at the pink that rose on her neck "You have no idea."

She pulled him towards the door. "Tell me about it during dinner."

They entered the restaurant and immediately people started greeting Katherine. She was obviously well known. Other young ladies stood and hugged her. The man behind the deli counter asked if she wanted the usual. A fellow serving drinks asked her where she'd like to sit. Finally they sat.

"Who's this you've got with you, Katherine?" A young girl, probably close to 15, with black braids and grey eyes.

"Nina, this is Jack Kelly. Jack, this is one of my good friends, Nina Gorban."

Jack shook the young girls hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

She smiled and blushed a bit. Jack felt his ego grow, remembering that with most girls a smile from him made them dizzy. With Katherine it had been a bit harder.

"Can you get us two of my usual?" Katherine asked.

Nina nodded and skipped off, looking at Jack over her shoulder as she did. He watched her go, laughing at her antics when Katherine cleared her throat.

"You really are a skirt chasing flirt."

Jack turned to face the fire in Kat's eyes. "What?"

"You heard me."

Jack leaned forward but also poked her with his foot under the tables. "Sure I did but the 'what' was over your tone. You sound put out Ace."

She moved her foot away from his and brushed her curls over her shoulder. "And if I am?"

Jack got distracted by her neck when she'd moved her hair. Now he got his eyes back to hers and smirked. "I'd say good."

"You are impossible."

Jack shrugged and leaned back. "So I's been told. Now you tell me how you have a regular order at a joint like this."

Katherine leaned back too and smiled as she looked around the room. "I live at Mrs. Temple's boarding house down the street. This is halfway between work and home so I like stop in for dinner."

Jack nodded. Most of the folks here were not much older than him and Katherine. This was a blue collar joint. Jack felt at ease and could see himself doing this every night, same as Katherine.

"So, what do we have coming by way of food?"

"What's my usual?"

"Yeah."

"Well, a meatball sandwich and a coke."

Jack let out a laugh. "You are a different cut of girl, you know that Ace?"

She smiled. If she didn't stop smiling Jack thought he might have a heart attack because his heart skipped beats each time. "Yeah, well, you aren't a typical newsie."

Jack shook his head. "Sure I am. I'm brash, impulsive, and loud."

Katherine shook her head back at him. "That may be, Jack Kelly, but you also paint and lead strikes. Speaking that, this should be a victory dinner in your honor. I thought of that today. You probably want to be with the other boys celebrating."

She looked genuinely concerned, her forehead wrinkled and a look of worry in her eyes.

"Naw, I'd rather be here with you."

Katherine's forehead smoothed but there was disbelief in her eyes. Nina came back with the food and they tucked away, too hungry to talk right away. Jack finished first and leaned back in his seat pretending to look at the restaurant but really watching Katherine from the corner of his eye. She ate like a girl. Which was understandable because she was one. She was watching him in between bites. He wondered what she was thinking. She'd sounded proud when she'd talked about the strike. She'd sounded concerned when she'd asked him if he didn't want to be there. He was an artist. He knew how to capture the human person in graphite and ink. But his thoughts spun when he was around her. They had since he'd ran into on the street just two weeks back. Fourteen days.

"We've only known each other two weeks."

Katherine finished her last bite. "I know."

Jack pulled out his wallet and pulled out the price of the meal. Leaving it on the table he stood and offered her his hand. "How bout you let me walk you home?"

She put her hand in his and off they went and soon linked their arms so that they were now walking very close. "It's been quite the two weeks though."

Jack looked at her from the corner of his eye. "That is has been."

They came to a stop in front of a tall brick building with alleyways on both sides so it stood independent of it's neighbors.

"This is where I live. And Mrs. Temple doesn't allow male visitors. And my curfew is in 10 minutes."

Jack frowned. "So I gotta say goodbye? Today is over?"

Katherine turned and pointed. "My window is there by the fire escape. Can you get there by your self?"

Jack grinned and took off. "I'll be waiting."

He scaled quietly and sat on the steps by the window she'd pointed at. The curtain prevented him from seeing in but he wasn't sure he was ready to see her room. His brain was thinking again. Five days and he'd kissed her. That was forward even for Jack Kelly if you didn't count Moni Torch. But no one counted their first crush. It hadn't really been love neither, just old fashioned curiosity. Now he'd kissed a girl in only five days and no official declaration of interest. Granted, she'd kissed him first. And they had fought together. But he was afraid he was going to mess this all up. The sash moved and out came Katherine.

"Ok, let's head up higher. The other girls know where I am and will cover for me."

Jack felt curiosity laced with some envy race through his veins. "So you do this with all the boys."

"What boys?" Katherine looked confused and then narrowed her eyes. "Jack Kelly, there are no other boys. Not for me. The other girls do this - Lisa, Charlotte, Betty. I got the insight from them. Now come on."

He followed her up through the escape to just by the roof. "Mrs. Temple's room is on the first floor and no one lives in the attic so girls use this space to meet their beaus after curfew. It's nice knowing there aren't any boy allowed inside but complicates having a …"

Katherine stopped talking because they'd stopped moving and also, Jack guessed, because she'd been about to call him her beau. He wanted to say something, anything, but his mind had stopped thinking. He moved past her to lean against the railing.

"I can see the appeal. You've got a better view than my pent house."

Katherine came to lean next him close enough that their shoulders touched. "Yeah, when a story won't get written I come out here to think."

He looked down at her hand, gripping her elbow as she crossed her arms and leaned on them. She looked, uncertain. "A great journalist like you? I bet that rarely happens."

She looked up at him and shrugged. "Just because you love something doesn't mean it comes easily. Does everything you paint or draw turn out as you picture in your head?"

Jack shook his head. "Of course not."

"It's the same with writing. Writing is like painting a picture with words. I want to make the image perfect but sometimes it doesn't turn out."

"Lot's of things in life don't turn out the way we want. That's not always a bad thing. I mean look at this past weeks."

"The strike?"  
"Naw, that was too spur of the moment to go any other way than how it went. I mean me and you. Listen, Ace, I know you said that wherever I go you'll be there but I also know I'm not...the kind of guy you thought you'd get and I am going to take that seriously."

He'd turned himself so it was his side leaning against the railing. He couldn't resist touching her any longer so he traced her jaw line with his thumb and her lips with his eyes. She looked positively radiant in the fading light. She was listening like the journalist she was, collecting the facts from his words and his actions, so Jack sought to be as transparent as possible.

"I get that I'm rough around the edges. When we first met you called me impossible but your opinion must've changed since then or you wouldn't have kissed with me."

She was smiling but wouldn't meet his eyes. He traced the side of her face in an effort to draw her gaze and then grabbing her shoulder gently he leaned in.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that I want this, me and you, to be more than just a thing that happened. I know what you said earlier today and I know what you said last night. So here's my reply...Ace, Santa Fe has nothing on you."

Then he kissed her, slowly, tasting all of her and wrapping his arms around her so she couldn't go anywhere. He poured all his hopes and dreams into that moment. She'd given him a new way to look at the world and a new dream. He broke off the kiss to catch his breath and leaned his forehead against hers. "Ace, your Father said I couldn't have his family. Do you agree with him?"

He felt her shake her head. "No, Jack Kelly, you have me and I don't think I could change that if I wanted to."

Jack leaned back and kissed her lips again. He looked up at the dark sky and sighed. If he didn't go now...it would be impossible for him to leave. "Good. Now I'll let you go to bed. Meet me for lunch tomorrow?"

Katherine nodded and gave him a last hug and kiss before he took off down the stairwell and into the streets.


	2. Chapter 2

- Katherine -

Ace, Santa Fe has nothing on you.

The voice stuck in her head, the taste lingered on her lips and the looks reflected in her eyes. She definitely had no real regrets about kissing him even if it had been on impulse. Katherine could no longer see Jack so she climbed down and started to get ready for bed. as she brushed her hair the past week swam through her head.

She'd liked that face from the moment she'd seen it. He'd tried to flirt with her to get her to buy a paper and she turned him down flat. She'd been with Hearst at the time and her close friend had laughed at the exchange. It wasn't until they had inadvertently run into each other a few more times that she got a clear picture of his character. What had she scribbled down about him while trying to write about the strike? handsome, heroically charismatic, plain spoken, know-nothing, skirt chasing, cocky little son of a..ahem, a flirt and a complete ego maniac...

That was a tad harsh, maybe, but it was true that he was all those things. And she loved...yes damnit, she loved, that about him. He'd said he wasn't what she had expected, well no bull there. He was so completely unexpected she'd turned her world on end to figure him out. He'd followed him to the strike and from there she'd chased him to the theatre and then finally to her Father's office.

"The range of emotion that boy shows on his face should be illegal. It's like he makes me feel with him." she pulled out her brush and began to work at her curls. Recalling his look of despair turning to hope at the theatre. His look of hope turning to betrayal in her Father's office. His look of betrayal mixed with fury cementing at the rally. The fury when she surprised him on the rooftop. He'd been so mad. She paused and let the memory play through her head.

...

_He bore down on her, invading her space, brown eyes lit with a fire. "If you weren't a girl you'd be trying to talk through a fist in your mouth."_

_His anger wasn't cold like her Fathers. It was a red hot boil you alive type anger. It scared and intrigued her. Could it be that he felt as much as she did? How did he not combust like she often felt like doing? Why was he this angry at her? She was only saying the things she knew he was already thinking. He was acting like she'd cut off his manhood or something._

_"If I wasn't a girl you'd be trying to look at me through a squinting eye."_

_"Oh yeah? take your best shot! Do it! I dare you! Take your best shot."_

_As he goaded her it occurred to her that he might be more mad about her apparent betrayal than anything else she'd said. She didn't want him to link her to her Father. Didn't he know she stood with him against her Father? So without any warning she decided to show him just how she felt. Kissing him that first time had been eletric. He'd been speechless afterward. They had gotten distracted from that point by planning their victory and she would have liked to leave the kiss alone but when she'd taken off for the ladder, brain trying to focus on plans he'd stopped her._

_"What's going on here?"_

_What was going on here? He indicated her and then himself, a significant look in his eyes._

_"I'm right to think there is something here, between us. An I ain't stupid. Guys like me don't get girls like you."_

_If only they did…the poor things were missing out on so much._

_She pulled herself back up the ladder and turned to face him. Total honesty seemed like the best idea._

_"Jack Kelly, until the moment I found you I thought I understood what love was. I'd even thought I'd been in and out of it at one time. But it seems that love is not something you control because when I look at you...I realize that the stings of life don't compare to the feeling of having something to believe in. And maybe it's just tonight, maybe I never get more than that kiss and this moment and tomorrow you are in Santa Fe but thats alright. I'll have this moment and that kiss and whatever it was we have will remain inside me. That's love."_

_He'd looked away from her as she'd poured her heart out. It was like he didn't want to hear this. When he spoke she couldn't tell if he was talking to her or just to himself._

_"We was never meant to meet, who knows why we did. When I first saw you I thought you just another someone sweet passing me by." Here he turned to look at her and Katherine found she was grateful he hadn't been looking at her the whole time. His eyes were still burning but it was with an affection, a love that rivaled her own. "But you are an angel come to save me and give me something real. And maybe it's just for today, and all I get is a taste of reality and tomorrow I'll have to go back to dreaming but that's ok, that's ok. Like you said what was ours still will be because this is love. Reality is, Katherine, I believe in you." He walked as he spoke, slow but deliberately seeking to once again invade her space. She stepped back out of a sense of the need to remain outside his sphere of influence. He caught one hand and then another and she felt her will power melt in the pit of her stomach. He had her. "And I can see in your eyes that you believe in me too."_

_He kissed her then and it had all the spark of the first kiss mingling with the burn of his eyes and the goo that was her stomach. Luckily his arms, like strong bars closing her in against his broad chest, held her fast or she would have collapsed._

_He'd broken it off suddenly. "I wish things were different."_

_"What like that you weren't going to Santa Fe?"_

_He shot her a look that sliced and seemed to say 'don't pin this thing not working on me'. "Yeah and that you weren't an heiress and your father didn't want my head."_

_"You aren't scared of my father."_

_It was true. His smirk and laugh confirmed it. "Naw, but I'm pretty scared of you."_

_She move towards him. "Don't be."_

_She froze when he turned back to her, eyes bright as stars and a look of determination on his face. "And if I'm gone tomorrow?"_

_In that moment she knew she'd follow this rabble rouser anywhere. "What's ours will be."_

_Jack nodded and stepped towards again, taking her hand like he was afraid she'd keep it from him. "I have something to believe in because you believed in me."_

_They had embraced. Katherine felt her decision cement. She was never going to leave him._

…

The memory dwindled and Katherine dragged her feet up onto the bed. She was glad he hadn't left even if she'd been ready to follow him. With some time she was certain that what they had would grow into the best things that ever happened to her.


	3. Chapter 3

- Jack -

"Whatcha writin?" Jack leaned on the doorframe of the general office, known as the floor, of the New York Sun. It was filled with desks, most of which were empty, except for hers. Katherine's forehead was wrinkled, eyes intent on whatever she was typing out. It was just past noon and Jack's stomach rolled with hunger. It had been a crazy morning and he was busting to tell Katherine about it. She looked up and it was obvious she hadn't expected to be interrupted. Once she saw him though she smiled and his stomach rolled with emotion. Damnit, just a smile and you want to kiss her, yous got it bad Kelly.

"Oh, a thing. But what are you doing here?"

Jack shrugged and walked towards her desk, touching things here and there to disguise his intention of, and his roaring curiosity to, see her "thing". He knew he'd be successful, he was good at distracting from his real intention to get what he wanted. "I talked to Davey this morning while we were waiting for the World to open the gates. He said I should take my talents with 'more seriousness, Jackie, you could make it as a cartoonist. Check out your options at least before you decide to shelf the idea.'"

Katherine stood, her chair wheeling backward from the suddenness of the action. He had her laugh at his imitation of Davey and that felt good. "Oh, Jack, that is wonderful!"

"Yeah, I don't think that I could do anything more than hawk your Father's papers. Besides, the Journal has better cartoons." He was close to her desk now. He casually placed his right hand on the desk and leaned all his weight onto it. This put their faces at the same level. "So I was thinking since I met Hearst Jr. I could see if they were willing to offer me a job at least on a trial basis. That's what Davey said to ask. But I wanted to know what a journalist thought of the idea and since we was planning on meeting for lunch..." He reached out a hand to trace her jawline. He was still going to see what she had written but being this close to her had other perks. She blushed from his touch and Jack felt his heart stutter. He'd made her that lovely shade of pink.

"So you thought you'd ask me? I don't work for the Journal."

He moved to sit on the edge of her desk, his hand moving cup the back of her neck, his fingers tangling with the hairs at the nape of her neck. "Well, you're the only journalist I really know."

She smirked and leaned into him, placing a hand on his chest. He almost hoped she couldn't feel his heart racing and almost hoped she could so she'd know what he felt when he was close to her. He looked around the office and seeing that they were alone he leaned close and kissed her gently. She hummed against his lips and he smiled against hers. He broke it off before he got so entangled he forgot where they were. He glanced at the typewriter and reaching around her grabbed the paper in there.

"Now what's this thing you were writing?"

"No, Jack, that's not for you to see…"

He scanned the page but stopped to actually read when he saw his name.

I can't explain to you how I feel about Jack. It's not that he confuses me it's just that I didn't think that after knowing a person for only a week I could feel like this...just a week Constance! and already I love him. He's nothing like any of the others. Even good ol' Martin seems dull compared to the brash, plain spoken, honest and open way he talks and looks at me. He's

"Oh ho, I do think this is for me to see. Tell me Miss Plumber. Who is this Constance you're writing to about me and more importantly who's this Martin character?" He still had a hand on her neck. He moved it to her waist when she tried to squirm away and grab the sheet of paper.

"Give me that! Constance is my sister. Martin is a gentleman I know who has expressed interest in courting me."

Jack felt his stomach clench. "A suitor?"

Katherine stopped squirming and looked at him. Even he had heard the jealousy in his voice.

Her forehead creased "Yes."

He smirked at the edge in her voice. "You said there was no other boys."

"Martin is a gentleman and is 27 so he's not a boy."

"27. Are you serious, Ace?"

"Yes. Listen, Jack, you have to understand that all of my suitors have been chosen by my Father."

Jack grinned. "Almost all."

Katherine grinned back. "Are you implying what I think you are, Mr. Kelly?"

Jack wanted to crow as she settled back into his embrace. "I think we went over this last night."

"We did, I guess."

"Besides you told your sister your in love with me. I think it's only natural that…"

Katherine shoved him and finally managed to free herself and grab the letter back. "I knew I didn't want you to see that."

She looked put out. Jack was at a loss as to why. He knew she loved him. Hell, he loved her right back. Was it love like what his parents had had? Not yet. But there was time for that. All the nights and days of forever. Katherine crumbled the page and threw it in her very full wastebasket.

"Hey, Ace, c'mon."

"No, Jackie, you know what I think I am going to work through my lunch break. I've got a deadline and all so I think you better go."

Jack frowned. "Ok, if you really wants me to."

He wasn't ready to leave. She'd been in his dreams last night and his thoughts all day. Now she stood in front of him, eyes fixed on the ground where the paper lay crumbled. Jack leaned forward but she wouldn't look up. Smart, beautiful, independant, brave Katherine Plumber refused to meet his gaze. Her shoulders heaved and she crossed her arms over her stiff white blouse.

"Yeah, I want you to leave."

Jack stood, wiped his face with the back of his hand and then crammed his hands into his pants pockets. "I'll go. I mean first I'm going to stop by the editors office to see if I can get an interview for a job here too but then I'll go. You have a nice day Miss Plumber."

He walked backwards as he talked and then turned away. He refused to turn and see if she watched him leave. She probably had. He had a way of making people look. He did indeed stop by the editors office and the lovely secretary, a young girl of 20 or so, told him to come back tomorrow first thing and he would have an appointment. He assumed his name and that of Miss Plumber helped him score in that regard. It was still early in the day. Jack grabbed something small to eat and headed out to hawk what he hoped were his last issues of the World. He tried to keep Pulitzer's lovely daughter out of his head.

"Jack! How'd it go?"

He turned to see Davey and Les walking his way. "Not so good."

Les crossed his arms petulantly. "They wouldn't give you a job?"

"Huh? What? oh, I dunno. Editor wasn't in. I have an appointment tomorrow."

Davey adjusted the strap of his bag. "Then what didn't go so good?"

"Lunch or lack thereof with Miss Katherine Plumber."

Les had run off to sell a pape. Davey just stood there frowning. "What happened? You said she was head over heels for you."

"She wrote as much to her sister."

"You read her private letter to his sister?"

"Jus' a few lines about yours truly."

Dave gave a sigh that indicated long suffering heave. "Jackie, how have you ever scored with a girl?"

Jack punched Dave in the arm. "Cause both my folks taught me well."

Dave rubbed his arm and glared at Jack. "Well, I don't profess to understand girls but I think they like to keep their private things private."

Jack smiled with pride at the wound he'd inflicted on his friend, this guy who was becoming as close to him as Crutchie. "Well, I am going to sell this last bunch over by the theatre. I's got a backdrop to paint an' then maybe I can ask Medda about Katherine. I was thinking I'll let her cool off and remember how boring life without Jack Kelly is then I'll make a stop at her place before heading in tonight."

Dave nodded. "I gotta get Les home. My Dad's looking up but my Mam doesn't like how tired Les has been looking. I'll meet you at the theatre though with food from home. Mam always makes something extra for you and Crutchie after all you've done for us."

"Good. I love your ma's cooking."

Jack took off down the streets hollering headlines, selling papers and trying not to think about Katherine. He missed her and all they had done was disagree that morning. He got to the theatre, sold his last paper to a man coming out of it and headed to the back. His Santa Fe hills were half done. When he arrived he couldn't find the will to keep going. They looked wrong, false. He sat, cap in hand and tried to conjure up the feelings he'd always felt for his dreamland in order to paint it. The idea of freedom, space, a fresh start in the fresh air. He closed his eye and thought about somewhere clean, green and pretty. Pretty like Katherine's eyes, smile, hair. No, not Katherine, Santa Fe. Belonging, being wanted...away from the deadlines and headlines. The opposite of New York. No matter how much he tried to picture the hills and the waving grass all he could see in his mind was Katherine. The way she stood. The way her blouse bunched at her elbows so she wouldn't get ink on the sleeves. He could see the the freshness of her face. He felt the want to hold her in his arms, wanted to feel her hold him back. She was such a part of this world and yet was not. She was her own person, her own world unto herself. That was the only place he wanted to belong to. He opened his eyes and smiled. Picking up his brush he got to work on the back drop. As he mixed colors and outlined and filled in spaces he got lost in the actions. The world faded. When he finished he knew he stank and was covered in paint but he was satisfied. Santa Fe lay before him, contained in a canvas and out of his head. He didn't need it anymore. He had Katherine.

"Jack you down here?"

Jack turned to see Dave in the doorway, brown paper bag in hand. "Dave! What didja bring? I'm starvin'."

"Mam made turkey so she put it into sandwiches for us."

"Mfuf." Jack swallowed hi bite before continuing. "You gotta thank your Ma for this. I swears this is better than anything they serve at those uptown joints." Jack then proceeded to wolf down the food.

Dave didn't reply, only went over to look at the painting. "This is good Jackie, one of your best."

"Do you even know anything about art?"

"No, do you?"

Jack smiled at the sarcasm in Dave's voice. "Har-har, I know how to do it dim-wit."

Dave chuckled at the insult. "Just take the damn compliment."

"Fine. Thank you Davey."

"You're welcome. You talk to Medda?"

Jack frowned. "Why are you so interested?"

They'd had the entirety of the former conversation with their backs to each other. David looking at the painting, Jack cleaning his brushes and eating his sandwich. They turned to face each other as the tension in the room rose.

Davey had frown lines between his eyebrows. "Jackie, I just don't see a girl like her falling for a fella like you. I've met her type and I've met your type. They don't always mix well."

Jack clenched his fist, resisting the urge to knock out Davey's teeth. "An' jus' what's wrong with a fella like me anyways?"

David turned back to the painting. Jack could see his friends shoulders tense. Davey wanted to punch him just as much as he wanted to punch Davey. "You've got no family, no real job and no home."

Jack staggered back, reeling from the comment. He wished Davey had just punched him. His voice rose as he spoke. "That was below the belt. Hell, I had a family and a home like you once. you know what happened? I lost 'em. And dammit I'll when get a better job I'll have those things again. Don't you dare belittle me, Mr. Hoity-Toity I've got a family and a house, not after the scrapes we's been in."

"What in the world is going on back here?" Medda, decked out in her green satin robe, came out from stage left. She looked from Jack, a single eyebrow raised, to Davey. "As I recall you two should still be on a victory streak. Now what are you fighting about?"

Jack had decided against getting Medda involved in his business with Katherine. She'd be more pleased than a mother hen when she found out and he wanted to do this on his own. So he kept his trap shut. Nothing was stopping Davey however so Jack wasn't surprised when the other fella spoke.

"Katherine."

Medda just hummed and nodded. "Right."

Jack wasn't sure what had prevented him from punching Davey before but hearing the other boy say her name made Jack want to deck him then and there. Medda must have seen his intention because she reached out a hand to prevent him.

"She's told me she loves me." Jack spoke, letting pride leak into his voice. "Davey here thinks I won't make good on that."

Medda shot him a severe look and turned to Davey. "Well, there you have it. Jack is certain in his attempts to win Katherine. Davey, you'll ruin your friendship with both of them if you try to get between that. That's all I am going to say. Now, scat, both of you so I can lock this place up for the night. No show tonight and I want to get to bed."

Jack walked out and heard Davey thank Medda and follow him out into the alley way. The cool air went right the Jack's head and he started to calm down. "Listen Dave…"

Dave cut him off. "Can you even trust her considering she lied to us about her Father."

Jack nodded. "I know... but she lives on her own and has little to do with her old man. 'Sides I don't think I need to defend myself to you..."

The night air had not calmed Davey down. He surprised Jack, grabbing him by the shirt and slamming him into the sidewall of the theatre and looked him dead in the eye. "Dammit Jack, would you just listen for a goddamn minute. If you insist and go and see her tonight just be aware that she is not used to fellas like you.."

Jack pushed Davey off of him and straightened his shirt. "Yeah, I know that. I ain't stupid."

"I never said you were. You're a good friend Jackie, like a I said before, this could go south fast. And I ain't going to wipe your sorry ass off the ground."

They stood there, tense, for a half moment.

"You're going to go see aren't you?"

Jack nodded.

Davey sighed. "Fine. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow. Thank you Ma for the sandwich."

"Goodnight Jackie."

"Goodnight Dave."

Jack took off through the streets of New York and made his way the Mrs. Temple's boarding house. He climbed the fire escape. The sash was drawn and the window closed at Katherine's room. If he was going to make it a habit to visit her, and he was, they would have to do something about the closed window. His brain was thinking again about what Dave had said and about how Katherine had acted earlier. She wasn't in her rooms when he arrived but came in seconds after, a black silhouette thanks to the curtain, and sat at what he assumed was her desk from the click-clack of keys that came through the thin glass of the window. He sat and pulled out his pocket pad and pencil to sketch the scene and stop his brain from thinking. He hummed while he worked, habit picked up from working backstage at a theatre.

"What the hell are you doing out here? You scared me half to death."

Jack looked up. Katherine was leaning on her window sill, her hair was pulled away from her face, hanging in a long braid down her shoulder. She was lovely in the light spilling from her room. He smirked. "That's quite a mouth you've got Ace. Do your folks know you talk like that?"

Her frown grew more severe. "Go away Jack."

Jack had been leaning against the back railing, legs sprawled in front of him. The way the escape was connected to the wall he'd have to step down to get into her apartments. Jack, put his drawing supplies in his pocket and slid around so he was lying flat on his stomach. Now their faces were level and inches away from each other. The color rose in Katherine's face.

"Give me one good reason why I should." Jack whispered, his breath moving the stray hairs that framed her face.

Katherine bit her lip. "Because I want you to."

Jack laughed lightly. "That's quite a mouth you've got Ace."

She went from pink to rose colored. Jack smirked.

"Go away."

"Why?"

"Because I want you too." This time she said it with less conviction.

"No, you don't."

Katherine sat back from the window and folded her arms across her chest. "I am still mad at you."

Jack stood and leaned against the doorframe. He was looking down at her from his full height and she had to strain her neck to look up at him. "Why are you mad?"

"You read the letter. That was a violation of my privacy."

Jack sighed and stepped away from the window. "Sweet peacock, it didn't say anything I didn't already know."

Katherine snorted, it was unfeminine but endearing. "Did you just say sweet peacock?"

"Yes."

"Alright then. It didn't say anything you didn't already know but I said it wasn't for you to see."

Jack could hear Davey's warnings in his head. "So then you need to keep things from me. Maybe because you already have a suitor? or suitors? I am sure those gentlemen have a better shot at getting you than I do. Hell, maybe you're engaged to one already. So, yeah, I think I better go."

Jack started to climb down when Katherine's hand on his elbow stopped him. "What are you on about? Of course I'm not engaged."

Jack looked up from his place on the ladder. "You've lied to me before."

Katherine narrowed her eyes. "Not about something like this. Not telling you my name was an attempt to keep my Father out of my life. Jack…" It was like she'd run out of words. She let go of his shoulder and stepped back onto the fire escape platform. He noticed her feet were bare. She'd had to of moved quickly to get out the window and stop him from leaving.

"Do you want me to go or not?"

Katherine bit her lip again and twisted her fingers. "Not."

He climbed the ladder slowly. They stood a few steps apart. "You aren't dressed to be outdoors."

"It's warm tonight."

Jack nodded. "Katherine, I love you an' I want to know if I have more than a chance with you." Her eyes got wide and her arms hung limp at her sides. Jack stepped closer and took her face in his hands. "I am serious. If I had my way we'd be married by the year's end. You said wherever I go you'll be said so an' I know you meant it. Something must've scared you or you'd be fine with me knowing you love me and that there is some competition out there."

He traced her features with his thumb and listened to her breathing. Katherine placed her palms on his chest and sighed. When she spoke there were tears in her voice but not on her face.

"Jack, I am scared. As much as you say guys like you don't get girls like me it's really the other way around. Girls like me don't get love. We get a successful husband, a fancy home and a small family. Or we get a career, a nice set of apartments, a bunch of spinster friends, and some niece to bestow our worthless fortune on. Last night and this morning and every moment really since we kissed that first time I have been scared. Scared that I am fooling myself."

Jack's brain had stopped thinking. He breathed, surprised that he'd held his breath since she'd said she was scared. "You really are an angel."

"I am not. I am incredibly human and very selfish to demand to have you."

Jack grinned. He pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Thank my stars you do."

They stood in each others arms for a moment. With each breath she took Jack allowed her words to sink into him. Her world was as foreign to him as Europe. But from the sounds of it it was not a world he wanted a part of. Sure, his folks had been dirt floor poor. He'd lost both an older brother and younger sister and a Mother to disease when he was barely nine. At the age of only 13, Jack had watched his Father, a man in his early forties, waste away like a man in his nineties. When he thought back, however, he remembered love. His parents had been crazy about each other. They'd been neighbors growing up from Irish and Belgian immigrant families. They'd gotten married young and started work younger. They were each others whole world. Jack had seen the city eat them alive but they had never faltered in their love. They'd fought but only because things were stressful. They'd always made up. Jack had seen kisses, hugs, and touches exchanged on a daily basis. Obviously, Katherine had not.

"Does this all overwhelm you?" She whispered into his shirt.

Jack shook his head against her forehead. "It feels as natural as second skin."

"Will you teach me?"

Jack stepped back. "What do you mean?"

Katherine was pink again and and she was gnawing her lip. He reached with his thumb coax it out of her mouth before she drew blood and then bent to kiss it lightly. He heard her breath hitch and then paused. They were a breath apart when he spoke. "Does this overwhelm you?"

Katherine eyes were like a cat in the headlights of a motor car. Jack breathed in and smelt her soap, her hair, her very essence. He closed his own eyes and when he opened them he kissed her. It was more intense than anything they had done up to that point. He leaned in so she was trapped between his and the wall. He moved her hands to link behind his head and then placed hand behind her head and another on her hip holding her still. He used his tongue to trace her lips and then fought her teeth to get in. He tasted her and coaxed her to taste him. The logic was faulty but he hoped that if he proved to her that overwhelming wasn't bad but very good then maybe he could chase away her fears. Her presence soothed his own fears. He feared he would disappear without a trace. That no one would know him and that he would never belong. He feared being dirtied by the city and eaten alive like his family. But Katherine believed in him and gave him something to believe in so he would not disappear, he would live and love and belong.

He sensed that she couldn't breathe anymore so he broke apart from her. He pressed his forehead to hers. He would not be able to do that again and still walk home comfortably.

Her eyes were dark, and bleary like she was waking from a dream. "God, Jack…"

"Being overwhelmed is fine." His voice was rough. She drew her hands down so they rested between them. Jack guessed she was trying to create space but that was not in his plan. She quivered against him and he felt it through every layer of her clothes. "Are you afraid?"

Katherine whimpered. "Hell yes."

Jack laughed, the rumble shaking them both. "Do I need to clean out that mouth?"

Katherine looked scared but curious. "Would you really…"

"Right now? Kiss you french style again? No."

She looked disappointed. Jack laughed again and she frowned up at him.

"Dear, sweet Ace, I would love to, truly, but I think I would ruin you."

Katherine's forehead wrinkled. She brought her fingers up to touch his lips. "Ruin?"

Jack moaned as she touched him lightly on the lips and resisted the temptation to lick her fingertips. "Yes, ruin. You really do need to learn about all this don't you."

"It sounds like you are belittling me." Her sharp tone didn't match the fascination on her face as she traced his features.

"I am not. I am stating a fact. You are very independant and grown up for a 17 minus 54 days heiress. But there are some things that you need to have told you."

Katherine fingers had left his jaw line and were twirling into his hair. "Well, you can tell me right?"

Jack laughed then, full body but very embarrassed. "Maybe, but not tonight. Tonight, I need to sleep and so do you."

"Do you really have an interview at the Sun tomorrow?"

"Yeah."

"I am happy."

Jack smiled down at her and made to move but she literally had him by the short hairs and refused to let him move. "One more kiss. Like that other one."

Jack gave her a look. "That is not a good idea."

Katherine tightened her grip. "I can handle it."

There is was. The fierce side of her. The one that threatened to punch him only to kiss him full on the mouth. Jack growled and kissed her. She was the one who plunged her tongue into his mouth. Jack wanted better access to her mouth so he slipped his hands under her legs and hoisted her up onto his waist. He balanced his forearms against the brick wall on either side of her face. Despite her cumbersome skirts Katherine managed to get her legs around his waist. She was lighter that he expected. Her back was flush against the wall and her arms gripped his shoulders almost painfully. He let his mind quiet and let instinct take over. He didn't know how long they kissed but soon the passion began to ease. Katherine was new to this and began to shy. Jack brought her feet back to earth. He gently bit her lip before easing back. She looked tousled and dumbfounded. He felt himself growl yet again and then smirked.

"You can't handle this Ace. In the future you'd best listen."

Katherine bit her lip. "How…"

Jack smirked even more. "Practice and observation. Mostly observation. Now I have to leave or I'll end up ruining you. Good night my lovely angel, try to sleep."

Katherine nodded and Jack took off. He took a long way back to the newsies lodgings. It was past

11 pm. He climbed to his penthouse and wasn't surprised to see Crutchie waiting for him.

"Jack, you look pleased."

"That girl will be the end of me."

Crutchie laughed. "Hey, I heard you were going to go that artist job."

Jack nodded. "Yeah. What do you think?"

Crutchie laughed. "You know what I think."

Jack nodded.

"So no Santa Fe."

Jack had been waiting for that question since Crutchie had gotten back. It effectively killed the buzz he had from being with Katherine. Jack sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"We've got family here now."

"You just don't want to leave Katherine."

Jack frowned. "She'd go with me if I asked but she belongs here. I guess I do to now."

Crutchie just looked at him. "Well, I better go get some sleep. See you around Jack."

And he was gone. Jack's brain wasn't thinking, it was spinning.. He collapsed on the pile of sack he had in the corner and looked up at the black sky. He should sleep. He should be tired. But there was Davey and his analytical warnings. Crutchie and his disappointment. Katherine and her naivete and perfect lips. He's thought things would go back to normal after the strike. He'd never been more wrong.

The sun would rise on a city that had been awake all night and a young man who had been awake just as long. Jack was pretty sure he had dozed briefly. But he was up and alert and thinking most of the night. Now he had a plan. He set off for the New York Sun and by the mid-morning he had the promise that they'd buy a weekly cartoon from him for the Sunday paper.

"I truly look forward to working together, Mr. Kelly."

Jack stood and shook Thomas Glendale's hand across the wide oak desk and gave him his best grin. "The feeling is mutual."

"We have one cartoonist already, Mr. Arthur Daniels. He does a daily cartoon for the morning paper. He can get you adjusted to office life. It's different from street life."

Jack chose to not take offense at the implication. This was business and Thomas Glendale was the boss. "Office life pays better."

tilted his head and looked at Jack over his round spectacles. He was a thin man in his forties, with greying black hair that was expertly styled and wearing a finely-tailored suit.

Jack smirked for a moment and then continued. "It pays better than street life and even shop life. however my first job is still on the streets. I plan on starting on the docks tomorrow."

Glendale quirked an eyebrow. "I have a feeling I just signed on more than I expected."

Jack shoved his hands in his pockets. "But you won't be disappointed."

Part one of the plan was finished. The next bit would be harder. He had to walk onto the newsroom floor and over to Arthur Daniels, introduce himself and not distract Katherine so very much. He was certain she had not slept last night anymore than he had. He knew she'd be bursting with questions but he wasn't going to answer them. That didn't fit the plan. He'd washed up that morning and worn his best set of clothes. They weren't fine like Glendale's but then again he was a poor artist and a former newsie. He'd combed his hair and had taken his hat off when he'd come in. He wasn't wearing a tie but those things were like nooses. He winked at the secretary as he made his way to the newsroom. Her name was Caroline and was cute but definitely older than he was. He pushed open the doors and no one looked up so he breathed comfortably. He noted the drawing board to the left of the room by a window and the short fellow crouched over it. He approached and cleared his throat.

"You Arthur Daniels?"

He had to be in his thirties, a scrawny guy, a head shorter than Jack with ink all over his hands and a depth in his eyes that was surprising. "Who's asking?"

"Name's Jack Kelly."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "The Newsie union leader?"

Jack smirked. "The sunday cartoonist for the New York Sun."

They took a moment to size each up before Arthur shook Jack's hand. "Pull up a chair and show me what you can do."

Jack obliged. He sketched Arthur bending over his drawing board with the caption "hard at work" and handed to his new deskmate. The older man grinned like a schoolboy.

"You're good, kid, but that doesn't mean you're cut out for office life."

Jack gave the same reply he'd given to Glendale. "I ain't but this is just a side job. I'm planning to work the docks. 'Sides this pay better."

Arthur smiled. "And the view's better."

Jack turned to see where Arthur was looking. Katherine sat at her desk, chewing a pencil and decidely not looking their direction.

"Has she looked this way?"

Arthur grinned. "The entire time you sketched. You know her?"

"All too well."

Arthur nodded. Everyone knew Katherine had covered the strike and even helped them win. Jack made sure his tone made it clear that wasn't why he knew her. Arthur seemed to understand.

"You gots a place to stay?"

Jack broke his gaze from Katherine. "I'm still staying at the Lodgings but I'll find another place soon enough.."

Arthur was sketching again. "You got plans?"

Jack sat down and started fiddling with the pencils. "Too many of them."

Arthur looked at him from the corner of his eye. "Take a moment and write them down or you'll forget them."

Jack looked at Arthur. Maybe it was because they were both artists. Maybe he saw that Arthur was originally a street fella not an office fella. Maybe he had already thought of writing his plan down but dismissed only to have it said out loud to him. Whatever it was, Jack grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled down his plans. As he did a commotion on the floor drew his attention. A messenger boy gave in carrying a bouquet of red roses in a simple glass vase. The delivery was made to none other than Miss Katherine Plumber. Katherine's color drained from her face as she pulled out the card and read it. Everyone hooted for a bit but then they went back to their business. Katherine was reading the small card, chewing her lip and twisting the ends of her hair.

"Does Miss Plumber generally receive flowers?"

Arthur gave Jack a significant look. "Yes."

Katherine looked up and met Jack's gaze across the. She looked petrified. Jack quirked an eyebrow and sauntered over to see what was wrong.

Katherine held out the card for him to see. "They're a gift from Martin congratulating me on getting a regular column."

Jack looked from her to the small card in her hands to the flowers. He shrugged. "That's nice."

"Are you really going to work here?" Katherine put the card in her trash bin.

Jack nodded. "Part time. I'll also be working the docks."

Katherine looked up at him, confused. "Really?"

Jack nodded. "They can only pay me for a weekly cartoon and that's not enough to live on. I ain't hawking papers anymore."

Katherine nodded. "Alright."

Jack smiled. "Keep the flowers. They brighten this place up."

Katherine started to chew her lip again and Jack crammed his hands into his pockets to fight the urge to touch her face. "If you really think so."

"I do. Now I gotta go. See you around Plumber." He started to walk away.

"Jack!" Her voice drew everyone's attention.

He turned, but kept walking backwards, out of the office. "I'm due somewhere else."

Katherine made a frustrated sound. "Fine."

"See you around Plumber."

"Good-bye Jack Kelly."

Jack stopped by Arthur's desk where he'd left his plan. Jack knew his new friend had read the sheet of paper. Arthur's look told him that the plan was good. So Jack decided to put it into motion.

July had become August during the strike. With summer ending and his 18th birthday approaching Jack thought back to the original piece Katherine had written about the strike.

"Watching those boys storm the gates of the World was a moment to capture, a moment when boys became men..."

He didn't think he'd end up different when he'd told Davey they should become a union. But he was. He was a working man, no longer a newsie but a stevedore, loading and unloading freighters that docked on the East River.

Often in the early hours of the morning, as he lugged crates on and off ships that dock along the East River, Jack let his brain think about the night he'd spent in Pulitzer's cellar. Decide - cowboy or convict. Santa Fe, freedom, space and air. The Refuge, imprisonment, suffocation and chains. Either way, it was abject surrender of the one cause that made him feel like he was more than a small life in a big town. He chosen neither. He'd been defiant and obnoxious and demanding. He'd lost Santa Fe in the process but he'd been rewarded with Katherine.

"Where do you go Kelly?"

Jack slung a sack of flour over his shoulder and turned to face the speaker. "Whatcha mean, Donoghue?"

Owen Donoghue had befriended Jack from the first. He was as tall as Jack but a deal broader, with black hair and blue-grey eyes. A native Irishman, trying to save up to send for his wife. The other Irishmen called him Selkie. He had a mouth and liked a joke. He was a fella to be close to though because even the Germans who worked the dock didn't mind talking to Owen.

Donoghue grabbed a sack like Jack fell into step with him. "You go inta your head an' stay there the entire time we work. Some of the guys say you think yer better than us because yer a union leader an all."

Jack smirked. "Naw, I jus' got a lot on my mind."

Owen nodded. "I respect that and that's why I told them to shut their traps or we'd do it for 'em."

Jack laughed out loud. "You sure know how to make friends."

"I certainly hope I do. Why do you think I talk so much? I don't love the sound of my voice that much but I know if I don't talk no one will. And then hows things supposed to get better."

Jack set down his load and started back for another. "You read the Sun."

Owen nodded. "I am startin' to really like those Sunday cartoons."

Jack winked. "75 cents a sketch. That's how I am able to afford that room across from yours."

Owen smirked. "And I am glad you do. I am thinking of starting to rent that parlor out front."

Jack frowned as he bent to grab another sack. "Why?"

"I want to start having meeting there."

Jack froze and looked Owen dead in the eye. "You want to start a union."

Owen stood his ground and look Jack square in the eyes. "Me, you and Dave."

There was no room for arguing in Owen's voice. Jack pulled a hand through his hair. The newsboys union was getting itself organized and Jack figured that by winter he would be able to be only marginally involved as an advisor and friend to the boys. Dave's dad had gotten better and returned to work which allowed Dave and Les to return to school. Les still hawked afternoon papers but Davey had his sights set on Law School which Jack thought was brilliant.

Owen placed a hand on Jack's shoulder. "We won't do anything that doesn't need to be done. I might be Irish but I'm not a socialist. I just want there to be a space to talk out our differences so's we're guaranteed a united voice if we ever need it."

Jack nodded. He didn't understand how he got pulled into situations like this but he did. "A place we can make sure we stand united if it ever comes to needing to strike."

Owen squeezed his shoulder. "A way to take care of our own."

That sounded like something Jack wanted in on. "Alright then. Come to dinner at the Jacobs with me and us three will talk in out."

And so it began. Owen, Jack and a second generation German stevedore by the name of Alois Feldt, pooled their money and got the title to the common parlor that linked their separate rooms. This gave them the right to hold private parties and meeting there to talk with their fellow workers. Dave began to study the books to make sure everything was done legally. Owen brought in the Irish, Alois the Germans and Jack united them as New Yorkers.


	4. Chapter 4

a/n The italics are the lyrics to the song "Storm" by Lifehouse. I suggest you listen to it during this chapter. It sets the mood.

* * *

- Katherine -

Everything about Jack Kelly being in her life seemed like a mistake. It had been a month since they'd first met. He had not visited her window since those first two times just after the strike had ended. It was now early September. She saw him about the office in the afternoon. Carrying things for the typing pool girls. Comparing styles with Arthur. Sketching the other writers in candid moments and giving out the finished products. She had a regular beat, a weekly column to fill with news on any strikes and union news. It was responsibility and pressure that she enjoyed except that she was constantly distracted by Jack. He didn't do anything to actively distract her. Just his presence threw her into a tizzy. He'd eat his lunch leaning on her desk if he was in the newsroom at lunch time, reading over her shoulder and commenting on union happenings. It was these conversation that brought her to understand just how involved he was getting down at the docks. Unlike with the newsies, he wasn't technically a leader but he was a voice in the ear of the leaders.

"So much for being just a blowhard." She muttered as she typed out a quote from Owen, one of the dock leaders. "He's basically putting words into their mouths."

She sat in her apartments finishing her work for the day. Jack had not been by the office that day. She wondered what he did when he wasn't around her and why she felt like she didn't exist when she wasn't with him. They hadn't kissed or even touched since that night just after the strike had ended. Katherine rolled her shoulders back at the memory. She was grateful for the space Jack had given her. She was afraid the next time he touched her she'd shatter. She still considered him more than a friend. She hoped that time would prove her right.

Standing at her window that September evening looking out on the city as storm clouds rolled in Katherine let her thoughts drift. Her 17th birthday was fast approaching. She'd recently fought with her family once more about her life but she'd also gotten back into her routine from before the strike. Breakfast, personal writing, interviews, lunch, afternoon reports, supper, reading, bed. And with each passing day she felt herself grow more restless. That scared her. She was fearless to some degree. Only one thing truly terrified her. Storms. Thunder. Lightning. Rain. The sight of the churning seas.

_How long have I been in this storm?_

_So overwhelmed by the ocean's shapeless form._

_The water's getting harder to tread_

_With these waves crashing over my head_

She wanted to be independant. But that meant a daily fight against society, family, and inner inhibitions. Waves of judgement, of pressure to be more than any man, more than any women, of conflicting opinions, of other people's pains shared in hushed whispers, of the shouts of every oppressed man, woman and child that lived the American dream seemed to rise and fall over her. She felt like she was drowning.

_If I could just see you_

_Everything would be all right_

_If I'd see you_

_This darkness would turn to light_

_And I will walk on water_

_And you will catch me if I fall_

_And I will get lost into your eyes_

_I know everything will be alright_

_I know everything is alright_

Jack. His smile. His green-brown eyes that sparked with determination and confidence. His mussed hair. His muscles as he moved crates on the docks. His voice as he talked about freedom. His cries of injustice. His smirk at victory. Somehow, he was firm ground in her storm. and yet…

_I know you didn't bring me out here to drown_

_So why am I ten feet under and upside down_

_Barely surviving has become my purpose_

_Because I'm so used to living underneath the surface_

He was the strongest gale in her storm. Loving him was fascinating. He commanded attention. He demanded the best of people. He refused help unless he could return the favor. He smiled and frowned seconds apart like the ebb and flow of the tide. She grew restless to know this idea of freedom he spoke of and the sense of belonging he promoted. She felt like for the past year she'd only been surviving and with him she might learn to live.

_And I will walk on water_

_And you will catch me if I fall_

_And I will get lost into your eyes_

_I know everything will be alright_

_I know everything is alright_

Somehow, loving another person could define you without stealing your identity. Lighting broke the sky and Katherine couldn't resist a shiver of fear. She counted the time between light and sound like Joe, her brother, had taught her. The rain wasn't falling yet but it would. Thunder rolled. She found strength to keep standing there at the window. She wrapped her arms around her stomach as the first drops of rain hit the pain, gaining speed.

_If I could just see you_

_Everything would be all right_

_If I'd see you_

_This darkness would turn to light_

Something started to hit the window too insistently to be raindrops. Katherine jumped back and threw back the sash. Standing out there, dripping wet, stood Jack Kelly. She opened the window.

"Ace, I am so sorry. I was coming from a meeting uptown when the storm hit."

Katherine stood back and smiled, grateful to see his face. "Come in, I'll fetch you a towel."

Jack climbed through the window and Katherine took off into the other room to get a towel. He's just stood there by the window, dripping onto her wood floor. She handed him a towel and pointed to the bathroom. "You can take a warm shower if you want. I think I have some trousers that I just finished mending for my brother. We can put your clothes by the heater."

Jack smiled at her. "Ace, you are an angel." Then taking the towel he headed into the bathroom. Katherine wanted to laugh. She had wanted to see him and now here he was after a month of only seeing each other in crowds and public spaces. Plus he'd been dripping wet. She was reminded of when she'd gotten Lorna, Constance's fluffy white cat wet, and seen just how small it was without it's fur. The opposite reaction happened with Jack. Could he really be that...impressive? Thunder interrupted her thoughts and Katherine remembered the storm. She left a pair of trousers and underclothes for him on a chair by the door, heard the shower start to run and moved to her small kitchenette to make coffee.

* * *

- Jack -

This was not part of the plan. This storm. Needing to get inside out of it. Being here in her shower (how the hell did she have one of these anyway?). Sometimes life threw a wrench in your plans. He'd kept his distance to try and figure a way to get more self control. Jack breathed deep and stepped out of the warm stream of water. He shut it off, dried off and stuck his head out of the door to see a clothes piled on the chair in front of him. He grabbed them and got himself dressed. When he exited the bathroom Katherine stood at the stove brewing what smelt like coffee. He smiled at her back. It was good to be able to look at her without anyone there to catch him for looking too long. He dried his hair and lay his clothes by the heater. A crack of thunder rattled the windows and Katherine jumped, a small whimper escaping her lips.

"You alright Ace?"

Katherine turned to face him. Jack remembered he didn't have a shirt on when her cheeks colored. Then her eyes narrowed.

"What are those from?"

He had forgotten some of his scars could be seen low on his ribcage. He didn't want to delve into this. So he stayed silent. Katherine approached, hand outstretched. She'd want to see how far back the scars went. Jack stepped away from her, keeping his back to the wall and grabbed wrist.

"They're old."

Katherine frowned at him. "Jack. Let me see."

Jack tried to resist but she freed her hand and taking him by the shoulder she turned him so she could followed the path from his rib cage to the canvas of pain on his back. She hissed and Jack flinched at the sound then pillowed his forehead in his folded arms against the wall. Katherine's light touch tranced his scars with a kind of reverence. Jack turned so he could see her over his shoulder. She stepped away from him, hand to her mouth. "Come have coffee."

He obliged her. As she move to the table, mugs in hand, thunder crack once again. She jumped and spilt some of the coffee on her wrist.

"Damn." She set down the mug and pulled off her sweater and began to roll up her sleeve.

"You don't like thunder, do you?" Jack reached for the mug and tasted the brew with the tip of his tongue to make sure it wouldn't scald his mouth.

Katherine also sat and reached for her own mug. "What gave me away?"

Jack just laughed. Katherine sighed and ran a hand through her hair and removed the clips allowing it to spill around her face. She moved the twist it up behind her head and secure it with a stray pencil. Her movements entranced him. She was so graceful and vivacious.

"It's a silly school girls fear."

Jack leaned forward, using his lack of shirt to allow his muscles to ease. His ribs always ached on rainy days, left over from the bad mending they'd once gotten. "Not silly."

She caught his eyes and brought her hands away from her hair. Once they rest on the table she brought one to hold his. "If you say so Mr. Kelly."

"I do."

"What are your scars from?"

Jack grimaced into his cup and squeeze her fingers in reflex to the memories. "Katherine, I don't want to talk about that."

"You should."

Jack glared at her. "I'd rather not."

Katherine glared back, her voice sharp with reproach. "If you hold them in the memories will never ease. Take me for example. I am afraid of thunder because even when I was very little and didn't know what it was my Father wouldn't let me climb in and sleep with my Mother. He made me stay in my big, dark, lonely room because Pulitzers "face their fears". Jack, I was 4. It's my first clear memory."

Jack set down his cup and reached for her hands. He didn't really know how to reply. What kind of man pushed his own children away. "That's awful, Katherine."

Katherine let him take her hands but her face didn't soften. "But it happened and I am learning to let it go. My Father was not a loving man. I know that. I accept that it limits how I see things. Now you share."

Jack shook his head. "My memories aren't like that. Mine are..."

"Worse. Which is why you need to tell someone."

Katherine stood and taking him by the hands she led him to the sofa in her sitting room. She pushed him to sit and then wrapping them both in a large afghan she lay against his chest. He could feel her heartbeat as it began to beat in time with his own.

"Jack, it'll get my mind off the storm. Just close your eyes and talk."

He breathed in her scent and spoke. "I got the scars in the refuge."

Katherine nodded. "I assumed as much. What else?"

Jack refused to talk. He wasn't going to break her innocence. "Ace, I don't want you to know about this kind of stuff."

Katherine looked up at him. "Please. I want to listen to you."

Jack swallowed at the honesty in her eyes but he wouldn't let her bend him. "No."

She sat up. the afghan slipped off them. Her skirts were tangled about her legs which she shift so they were strewn across his own, her feet didn't quite reach the floor. She look fearsome, glaring at him.

"That is not a tone to take with a lady."  
Jack, lounging full length across the sofa, just smirked.

"Jack Kelly, you…"  
"Are not going to yield in this."

He knew his tone was hard, brokering no compromise.

She started to talk but it was cut off by another peal of thunder. She whimpered. Jack reached up to rub her arm. He began to sit up, wrapping himself around her instinctively. He felt the need to guard her fears. "Katherine, this is not the time dredge up my past. Tonight, we'll face your fears. Mine will come in time."

Katherine, now securely trapped in his arms, squinted up at him. "Fears?"

Jack pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Yes. Now shush, sleep."

She snuggled in against him as lightening lit up the room and thunder cracked. Miraculously she dropped the subject. Soon enough she fell asleep on him. He listened to the thunder start to fade and the rain let up. Then with all the gentleness he could he started to move her to her bed. She woke as they crossed the room.

"Jack?"

"I'm sorry if I woke you."

Katherine smiled up at him and shifted indicating she wanted to be set down. "No worries. Has it stopped raining?"

"Yeah, so I better go."

Katherine nodded. "Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow right?"

"Yeah."

Her hair had fallen out of it's pencil bun and she looked rumpled but very lovely. Her eyes were bleary with sleep. she didn't move toward the bedroom, just stood there, arms wrapped around her middle. She took a deep breath

"You won't ignore me?"

Jack felt his stomach jolt. "I ignore you?"

Katherine nodded. Sleepiness made her honest. "You do. Why? I thought we were in love."

Jack felt like her gaze had paralyzed him. "We are."

"But you don't look at me and you let me eat lunch alone and you don't visit."

Jack pulled a hair through his hair. His plan obviously had some holes in it. She snickered. He shot her a glance of confusion.

"You've made your hair stand on end."

Jack smiled at her and took a step towards her. "Can you trust that it's my love for you that makes me do things like that?"

Katherine shook her head. After learning that her father had ignore the pleas of four-year-old Katherine he wasn't surprised. Finding he could move again Jack stepped forward, took her by the shoulders and leaned his forehead against hers. "What will show you that I love you?"

"Just be around. I feel alone in this big wide world. I need you around."

Jack smirked then. Time to put the plan aside and just live life for a while. "Alright, I can do that. Now get to bed."

She smirked up at him. "You'll stay here?"

Jack raised an eyebrow. "No. I have broken enough rules tonight. I am going to my place. But I'll walk you to work tomorrow."

Katherine nodded. Then stepping up on tiptoe she kissed his stubbled cheek. "Goodnight, my love."

"Goodnight, Ace."

Jack didn't sleep when he got back to his place. He paced the floor and wondered what it would be like to actively court a girl like Katherine and decided he didn't really need her father's permission. Not a Father who didn't know how to show love.


	5. Chapter 5

Morning broke to find Jack using the bar in his closet to do chin-ups. Davey found him doing them when he burst through the door.

"The south docks are going nuts."

Jack dropped to the floor and reached for his shirt. "You's sure?"

"Un-huh. Owen used the phone to call me. We better get there."

Jack froze. Owen hated phones. "I'm supposed to walk Katherine to work."

Dave pull out his pocket watch. "We'll pick her up on the way. Reporter for the Sun, she needs to be there."

They set off at a run. When they got the boarding house Jack just hollered for Katherine. Several other girls stuck their heads out the window to see what the ruckus was about but Jack just ignored them.

"Katherine Plumber! Hurry up! We're needed at the docks. This is big news, bring your pen!"

Katherine's face appeared at her window. "You better not be lying Jack Kelly!"

Jack smirked. "I told you I would come walk you to work."

Katherine just waved a hand at him and a few minutes later she appeared at the door of the boarding house. One of the girls, a redhead, who'd been watching the entire interchange called down.

"If you ever get tired of him, Kath, I'll take him."

Katherine linked her arm with Jack and smiled up at the girl. "He's mine, Nora, you'll get your own."

"What about his friend?" Nora called, obviously indicating Davey. "What's he do?"

Dave walked backwards and called out to her. "I'm a law student."

"Brainy? Huh. Haven't dated a brainy fella before. Where do you live?"

Davey shouted his address to her. "Stop by sometime."

"I'll consider it."

"My name's David."  
"I'm Nora."

Jack's sides were aching from laughter be this point. "Dave, you are a goon. Come on, we'll miss all the action."

Davey waved a last time to Nora. "Besides, we're too far away to talk anymore."

Jack looked down at Katherine, laughter in her eyes too. "You call that talking? you woke the entire neighborhood and now anyone who might want to rob a dumbbell like you knows where you live."

"I could take em."

Jack punched Davey in the arm. Davey flinched and moaned in pain.

"You're a softie Dave."

"Whatever. We're going to be late."

they took off, practically running through to the docks. They didn't miss any action. Owen stood on a crate trying to calm what was starting to look like a mob down. Alois was nowhere in sight. Jack stood back for a moment to access the situation before standing up on a box of his own. He whistled load.

"Hey! Fellas! What's goin' on here?"

Everyone's attention turned from Owen to him. Owen got down from his box and made his way to Jack's side.

"They arrested Alois last night."

"an' it's all that damn Irishman's fault." a thick german voice called from the crowd.

"Who said that!?" Owen turned a set of firey blue eyes on the crowd. Jack reached out a hand to calm his friend. Jack turned his own gaze onto the crowd.

"Who made the accusation?" His voice was calm. "Was that you Erik? or you Conrad? you voices are too similar for me to tell which Adler brother is talking"

Jack used the mens names. Singling people out broke up the mob mentality. Breaking up the potential mob was important. Jack couldn't prevent violence if the men insisted on thinking in a pack. Conrad stepped forward. Jack nodded at him. "Tell me what happened."

Owen began to object. Jack silenced him with a look. "He's leveled an accusation. Same as if we were in the parlor. We settle this with clear heads."

Conrad nodded. Owen glanced from Jack to Conrad and then nodded.

"Alright then, the rest of you get back to work. I'll tell you at lunch break what the conclusion of this meeting is. We have families to feed. Slacking off is jus' plain stupid."

The men stood their ground for a moment and Jack was scared they'd demand to witness the meeting. He could protect Owen and hear Conrad out with that many witnesses. But then slowly the men started back to their jobs. They were giving him wry looks and it was then that Jack realized he was still holding Katherine's hand. She stood on the ground, looking at the men, paper pad under her arm and hand in his. Jack was confused for a moment. Katherine just smiled at him and squeezed his hand. He stepped down, and didn't let go as he turned to listen to Conrad.

"Last night, me, my brother, Alois, Owen and Tommy were out. Things got rough when we ran into some fellas outside the bar but it wasn't Alois' fault. The police show up and this arsch..." he indicated Owen and Jack assumed the term used wasn't polite. "who started the fight disappears. Alois takes the heat and now he's locked up and has no money to pay bail."

Owen cut in loudly. "That isn't what happened. We were just being rowdy coming out of the pub. Some bastard…" Owen stopped and cleared his throat. He glance at Katherine, ashamed of his mouth. "Sorry Miss. One of the fellas we'd run into literally ran into me. I threw a punch as a joke. He took it wrong and we started to brawl. Alois pulled us apart but when the coppers arrived it looked like he was the instigator. I tried to tell 'em otherwise but they know me as a trouble-maker. Alois told me to back off and let him take the heat. Conrad and his brother weren't close enough to see. Tommy was. He could tell you."

Jack listened and looked from one man to the other. Their stories were technically identical. Owen had been in and out of holding cells more than any of them so it made sense that Alois would take one for his friend. Conrad and Erik were new to the area, coming here from the south looking for better work. They were less German that even Alois but didn't like Irishmen all the same.

"You says he doesn't have the bail money."

Both the fellas shook their heads. Jack looked at Davey who'd been silently observing the whole time. Davey nodded. Jack knew what his friend was thinking. Use the pool to get Alois out.

"So we'll use the saving to get Alois out. You both come with me to do this. An' if I've gotta lose a day of work so's don't you."

Jack still didn't want to let go of Katherines hand but he thought she'd probably have to go. He turned to her as they walked towards the parlor, where the savings pool was kept. She seemed amused by the entire situation.

"Whatcha thinkin Ace?"

Katherine squeezed Jack's hand and shrugged. "You're a very convincing individual."

Jack shrugged back at her. "I am glad you were here. Do you need to go?"

Katherine shook her head. "I gotta see this story through."

Jack smirked "There's a story here?"

Katherine just nodded. "Yeah. It's an opinion piece about how leaders take care of their own."

Jack just kept a hold of her hand and didn't try to discern what her opinion of his leadership was. They made it to the parlor. Dave unlocked the door and went right for the small safe they hid between the sofa and the side table. Jack was distracted by Katherine. She hadn't seen his place yet. He watched her gaze roam around the parlor with it's desks full of papers and mismatched furniture. She leaned forward to look inside the different rooms off the parlor. Jack regretted having left his door open. Her eyebrows pulled together.

She turned to him. "Who lives here?"

Jack tried to not look guilty. Katherine read his face.

"You? And Owen and Dave and Alois?"

Jack nodded.

"The four of you split this floor?"

Jack nodded again.

"Who cooks and cleans and does the laundry?"

Jack didn't hide the note of pride in his voice. "We does. We take turns and we take care of ourselves."

Katherine clicked her tongue and shook her head. "I can see that."

Jack looked at her askance, her mental wheels were churning. Davey was counting out the bail money while Owen and Conrad waited.

"What are you thinking Katherine?"

"That I'll have to bring Nora at least if not June and Moira too."

"Bring them to...ho, no. No girls here except for brief moments and in extreme circumstances. We take care of ourselves."

Katherine gave him a look of blatant disbelief. Jack narrowed his eyes at her. He'd been firm yesterday night maybe it would work with this too.

"Katherine. No."

"Jack. Yes."

"What are you two lovebirds fighting about?" Davey asked as he came over, pocketing the needed money.

"Katherine wants to bring some friends over to clean."

Katherine rolled her eyes at Jack and addressed Davey. "Four boys living under one roof without a housekeeper. How much you wanna bet there is mold growing here?"

Dave looked thoughtful. "Will one of the girls be Nora?"

Katherine shot Jack a look of victory. "You bet. We'll come over tomorrow."

Davey nodded. "Sound great, now let's go free Alois."

"I can't believe you are ok with this Dave. What about you Owen?"

Owen looked sheepish. "I was going to ask my sisters Emmy and Janey to come anyways."

Jack let out an undignified noise of disbelief. Words completely failed him for a moment. Then he remembered there was a fourth tenant. "Alois will side with me."

Owen and Davey replied as one. "No he won't."

Katherine kissed Jack's cheek. "I win."

"Let's get to the damn station."

Once they got through the doors of the station Jack realized that bringing Katherine might've been a bad call. He kept her close to his side as Davey worked the negotiations with the officer at the front desk.

"Have you ever been here?" Katherine whispered.

Jack could see she was taking everything in. He wrapped an arm around her waist, keeping her at his side.

"Naw, just the Refuge."

Katherine looked at him, head tilted. "Which is just as bad."

If he answered she'd bring up his scars so he merely shrugged. Just then, Davey came from the back with Alois. The towheaded german didn't look worse for the wear. Jack shook his hand and they five of them left for the parlor again. Jack related both version of the situation to Alois. In return Alois fell into step with Conrad. They began to talk rapidly and intently in German. Jack was settled now. No one had gotten hurt. If anything this would serve to dissolve any tensions between the different nationalities that worked the docks.

Owen fell in step with Jack and Katherine who remained holding hands. "So, Miss Plumber..."

"Call me Katherine."

"So Katherine, I assume from the way you've held this fella's hand all day that you are not single."

Katherine shook her head. "No, Jack and I are..."

She paused here. Jack could see her thoughts spin. What were they? He stepped in, squeezing her hand gently.

"I'm Katherine's beau. She's hesitant because her folks aren't too keen on the association."

Katherine's smile was like sunshine after winter. It broke across her lovely face and filled Jack with a sense of accomplishment.

She turned to keep talking to Owen. "My folks don't approve of most of my life so I don't like to dwell on the idea."

Owen just nodded and didn't pry. "Well, I hope you meant it that you are going to clean our place for us."

Katherine was about to reply when Alois interrupted. "Who is going to clean?"

Katherine smirked at Jack. "I am. Myself and some of my girl friends are coming tomorrow to clean and air out your cave."

Alois smiled. "Thank the Lord. It's beginning to smell."

This made everyone laugh, even Jack after a moment.


End file.
